Guidance for the development of College Outcome Agreements: 2017-18 to 2019-20
Issue date:
5 October 2016
Reference:
SFC/GD/21/2016
Summary:
Process and framework for developing and negotiating College Outcome
Agreements
FAO:
College Principals and regional strategic bodies
Further information:
Contact: Ken Rutherford
Job title: Assistant Director/Outcome Agreement Manager
Directorate: Access, Skills and Outcome Agreements
Tel: 0131 313 6618
Email: [email protected]
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Scottish Funding Council
Apex 2
97 Haymarket Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5HD
T 0131 313 6500
F 0131 313 6501
www.sfc.ac.uk
Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................. 1
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
The Outcome Agreement process: relationships and reporting ........................ 1
Relationship..................................................................................................... 2
Reporting ......................................................................................................... 2
Monitoring ...................................................................................................... 3
Quality Arrangements ..................................................................................... 3
Outcome agreement and quality self-evaluation reporting........................... 4
On-going monitoring ....................................................................................... 4
Development of the process ........................................................................... 5
Outcome Agreement process: Outcome setting and funding............................ 6
Funding Recovery ............................................................................................ 6
Timeline ........................................................................................................... 7
Table 1: Outcome Agreement AY 2017-18 timeline ................................... 8
The AY 2017-18 Outcome Agreement: priorities for updating .......................... 8
SFC priorities ................................................................................................... 8
Table 2: SFC’s national priorities for AY 2017-18 ....................................... 9
Aspirations and National Measures .............................................................. 15
Revisions to national measures .................................................................... 15
Cross cutting themes..................................................................................... 16
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) ................................................. 16
Senior Phase Vocational Pathways ........................................................... 17
Employer Engagement .............................................................................. 18
Workplace Experience and Work Placement ........................................... 19
Modern Apprenticeships .......................................................................... 19
SFC national aspirations for widening access ................................................... 20
Access for people from the widest range of backgrounds ........................... 21
Equality and diversity .................................................................................... 21
Care-experienced .......................................................................................... 22
Carers ............................................................................................................ 22
Gender........................................................................................................... 23
Access and Inclusion funding ........................................................................ 24
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Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) ..................................... 26
Early Years and Childcare .............................................................................. 26
Employability ................................................................................................. 27
European Social Funds .................................................................................. 27
Alignment with Single Outcome Agreement reporting ................................ 28
Land-based Provision .................................................................................... 28
British Sign Language (BSL) ........................................................................... 28
Gaelic ............................................................................................................. 29
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) .......................................... 29
Student engagement in the development of Outcome Agreements ........... 29
High performing institutions ............................................................................. 31
Carbon reduction .......................................................................................... 31
Financial stability........................................................................................... 31
College Leaver Destination Survey ............................................................... 31
Student satisfaction and engagement .......................................................... 32
Table 3: SFC’s National Performance Measures for 2017-18 ................... 33
Table 4: SFC Outcome Agreement and policy area contacts ................... 34
Annexes
Annex A: Self-evaluation report
Annex B: Regional context statement and Outcome Agreement template
Annex C: Access and Inclusion Strategy
Annex D: Technical guidance
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Foreword
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is committed to working with Scotland’s
universities and colleges to make Scotland the best place in the world to learn,
to educate, to research, and to innovate.
With SFC support, our universities and colleges will continue to bring about
the Scottish Government’s vision of a smarter, fairer, wealthier and greener
Scotland. They will do this by investing in their people and estates, giving
learners access to high-quality teaching and well-equipped, sustainable
facilities; by working with industry to drive innovation in the economy,
recognising and redressing skills gaps, and improving the well-being of
citizens; by promoting inclusivity, transforming lives by breaking down barriers
and reducing income inequality; and by being outward looking and
competitive, actively promoting Scotland on the international stage.
Working in partnership with our institutions, we want the 317,000 students in
our universities and colleges to have the best possible learning experience so
that they are equipped to think, to act, and to contribute in their workplaces
and in their communities within Scotland – and beyond. Furthermore, we
want this opportunity to be available to people from all backgrounds and are
therefore committed to working with our institutions to respond to the
recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access in its ‘Blueprint for
Fairness’ 1 which asserts Scotland’s ‘moral, social and economic duty’ to tackle
inequalities.
Public bodies should lead the way on Fair Work, ensuring access to good jobs
providing security and opportunity to employees, treating them with respect
and providing fair reward. There are currently four colleges and four
universities accredited as Living Wage Employers. We would encourage all
institutions to become Accredited Employers and to promote the benefits of
Fair Work, both through their HR functions and more widely to staff and
students.
The Scottish Government’s review of its enterprise and skills agencies is due
to report its first phase conclusions in Autumn 2016. This may have an impact
on some elements of this guidance, and supplementary guidance will be
provided if required. The guidance will also be refreshed in each year of the
cycle to reflect the developing priorities of the Scottish Government and SFC. .
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A Blueprint for Fairness
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Introduction
1.
This guidance explains the process of negotiating an Outcome
Agreement with the SFC for academic years (AY) 2017-20. It also explains
how we will monitor previous years’ Outcome Agreements.
The Outcome Agreement process: relationships and reporting
2.
The Outcome Agreement process is intended to complement and
support a College region’s strategic ambitions and SFC’s decisions take
account of the context within which colleges operate. Achieving these
ambitions is ultimately the responsibility of the board of the region. An
Outcome Agreement should align with a region’s strategy so that it
enables the College region to negotiate its contribution toward sector
level impacts according to its priorities and strengths. Outcome
Agreements demonstrate how colleges are responsive to the skills and
education needs in their region. They have become a powerful tool in
demonstrating what colleges deliver in return for public investment.
3.
The Outcome Agreement is a joint funding commitment, in which each
college region sets out the:
• Regional context within which a college region operates (this should
include a regional plan to agree vocational pathways for Senior Phase
learners and the college’s contribution towards the implementation of
DYW) see Annex B.
• Outcomes and outputs a college region will deliver, mindful of this
regional context, in response to Scottish Government priorities. In
most instances these outcomes/outputs will correspond to SFC’s
national performance measures. They will be expressed consistently
to aid regional and national aggregation and be
set-out to include reference to a baseline position, current progress
and a future ambition or target for AY 2017-18.
4.
For ten of the 13 regions, the Outcome Agreement will be negotiated
and agreed with the single college serving that region. In the three multicollege regions - Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the Highlands and Islands the Outcome Agreement is negotiated and agreed with the regional
strategic body.
5.
For Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (SMO) and Newbattle Abbey College, which are
specialist rather than regional colleges, certain aspects of this guidance
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will not apply. The respective Outcome Agreement Managers will discuss
this with the colleges.
In the case of the University of the Highlands and Islands and SRUC, the
college Outcome Agreement is part of a tertiary Outcome Agreement.
The respective Outcome Agreement Managers will agree in advance of
negotiations which elements of the college and university guidance
should be followed.
Relationship
6.
A strong working relationship with SFC Outcome Agreement Managers
and their teams can enhance mutual understanding. Outcome
Agreement teams advocate on behalf of colleges and support and
challenge them to make more effective contributions to Scottish
Government priorities. Outcome Agreement engagements are also a
forum where colleges can share and explore their strategic ambitions
and strategies with SFC colleagues.
7.
SFC Outcome Agreement Managers will also consult as appropriate with
colleagues in other relevant organisations, including Skills Development
Scotland (SDS), Education Scotland (ES) and College Development
Network.
Reporting
8.
Outcome Agreements should be concise documents focused on SFC’s
strategic plan priorities outlined in Table 2 below and should include
outcomes for the three years from AY 2017-18 to AY 2019-20.
9.
An outcome-focussed approach has been adopted to improve the
outcomes for the individual learner and the Scottish economy as a
whole. We want Outcome Agreements to demonstrate how colleges are:
• Contributing to a reduction in youth unemployment and improving
life chances by providing all learners with the necessary skills to
progress into sustainable employment.
• Ensuring provision is efficiently delivered and meets national, regional
and local employer needs through the use and analysis of Regional
Skills Assessments (RSAs), Skills Investment Plans (SIPs) and other
relevant labour market intelligence.
• Supporting learners to complete their study and achieve successful
outcomes.
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10. An Outcome Agreement consists of two sections: a regional context
statement and an outcome progress table. Colleges should use the SFC
measures outlined below, as well as their own indicators and evidence of
progress, to capture their contribution to SFC and Scottish Government
priorities.
11. Colleges are asked to attach a summary form detailing baselines and
targets for national measures to their completed Outcome Agreements.
Each region will be provided with a bespoke summary form containing
trend data for each measure, and the current baseline for determining
future progress. The level of ambition reflected in a region’s Outcome
Agreement should be reviewed on a yearly basis. Please contact your
Outcome Agreement Manager for more information on the process, and
to discuss the details of your region’s agreement.
Monitoring
12. Outcome Agreements for AY 2017-18 will be informed by the monitoring
of progress and achievements from previous years. This will focus on the
AY 2015-16 agreement, and very early progress from the AY 2016-17
agreement. We will discuss progress with colleges throughout the year.
The monitoring process includes a number of key stages, which are set
out below.
Quality Arrangements
13. Quality assurance and enhancement underpins the Outcome Agreement
process and remains a continuing requirement of colleges and a
condition of funding. The quality arrangements enable SFC to discharge
its statutory duty for the assessment and enhancement of quality.
14. Following pilot work with three colleges in AYs 2014-15 and 2015-16, SFC
and Education Scotland will introduce new quality arrangements and a
new approach for all colleges from AY 2016-17.
15. AY 2016-17 will be a year of development, during which colleges will
work with their SFC Outcome Agreement Manager, Education Scotland
College HMI and (where applicable) their Regional Strategic Bodies to
respond to the new approach and develop new arrangements in every
college.
16. SFC's quality duty applies to all publicly funded colleges, i.e. those
funded directly by either SFC or a regional strategic body.
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17. The new approach will integrate quality arrangements reporting with
outcome agreement evaluation and reporting. More detail is provided
below. In the first instance however, in place of the previous quality
statement of assurance colleges provided, we are asking for college
Boards to formally pledge/commit, as part of their Outcome Agreement
Self-evaluation Report, to engage with ES and SFC during the year of
development and to create new arrangements for their college.
18. During AY 2016-17 all colleges will work towards developing their first
Annual Evaluation Report and Enhancement Plan (in addition to their
revised Outcome Agreement). The first of these should be completed by
October 2017 and from AY 2017-18 the new quality arrangements will
operate fully.
19. SFC and Education Scotland will provide outline guidance on the new
quality arrangements and reporting requirements in the autumn,
followed by detailed Education Scotland guidance for colleges to replace
the current “External quality arrangements for Scotland’s colleges” by
December 2016.
Outcome agreement and quality self-evaluation reporting
20. All colleges are accountable for the funding they receive and are
currently asked to submit an Outcome Agreement self-evaluation report
each October showing progress in achieving outcomes supported by the
previous year’s funding. The Outcome Agreement self-evaluation report
is used by Outcome Agreement Managers to inform their ongoing
negotiations with colleges and to contribute towards the monitoring of
outcomes.
21. As mentioned above, for AY 2016-17 there will be no requirement for
colleges to produce a Quality Statement of Assurance. The requirement
remains however, for colleges to produce an Outcome Agreement Selfevaluation report for October 2016 and further information on how to
complete this is contained in Annex B of the SFC guidance document
Delivering College Outcome Agreements (AY 2016-17).
22. For AY 2017-18, colleges will be required to produce a joint outcome
agreement and quality self-evaluation report and further guidance on
how to complete this is included at Annex A.
On-going monitoring
23. Building on this evidence contained in these reports, we will provide an
assessment of progress for each region, which will then be discussed
with college regions. This evidence will also be used to inform funding
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decisions, to aid negotiations over future Outcome Agreements, and to
help inform national priorities and areas for collaboration.
24. To assist with the monitoring of Outcome Agreements, we will continue
to require college regions to provide quarterly data returns using the FES
Online reporting system. The first data return will be required by the 11
November 2016, the second by 10 February 2017, the third by 7 July
2017 and the final return by 29 September 2017.
Development of the process
25. We have continued to refine the Outcome Agreement process in light of
feedback received and the annual evaluation survey.
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Outcome Agreement process: Outcome setting and funding
26. To manage progress toward achieving Government priorities, funding for
colleges will be negotiated annually. Funding is offered on condition that
an Outcome Agreement meets the required standard, particularly in
terms of the:
• Impact a college region will deliver.
• Ambitions and appropriateness of outcomes and outputs.
• Level of partnership support for its work.
27. The achievement of the aspirations set out within an Outcome
Agreement is the responsibility of a college region and SFC has a role to
play in supporting this.
28. We recognise however, that college regions work alongside others in the
achievement of outcomes and that some factors are outwith direct
college control.
29. Future funding will be dependent upon delivery against outcomes, and
negotiations in relation to past performance will be used to adjust
funding.
30. Decisions to reduce funding would be proportionate and based on
holistic considerations of a college region’s performance rather than a
mechanistic or formulaic reduction.
31. Progress and funding will be discussed with individual college regions.
Each year as part of the monitoring of progress, SFC will use consistent
measures to aggregate the impact of Outcome Agreements and will
discuss this progress with the sector.
Funding Recovery
32. SFC will consider situations where there is concern over a variation in
delivery against Outcome Agreement commitments. This action would
involve SFC considering - taking context and ambition into account whether funding needs to be recovered; taking a holistic view of both
good and unsatisfactory progress to arrive at its decision.
33. We will plan to take our main funding recovery decisions in the spring.
This will allow sufficient time for data on progress to be compiled as well
as time for SFC committees and the executive to fully review the
progress delivered to date.
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34. Funding recovery decisions will take place to ensure that the most
effective use of the funding allocated in previous years has been made.
To inform its decisions, the SFC Board will consider the region’s
governance and progress against the following:
•
•
•
•
Student numbers.
Funded mix of provision.
Deliverables related to strategic investments and/or projects.
Compliance with legislation, regulatory frameworks and good
practice.
35. Importantly, as a result of the Outcome Agreement process, SFC will be
able to review the progress being made by the sector on an on-going
basis within the academic year and will raise pertinent issues with
regions as part of on-going engagement and in order to assist regions in
the preparation of future Outcome Agreements.
36. Where SFC determines that funding recovery may be required, regions
will usually be informed shortly after. Outcome Agreement Managers
will support this process.
37. A spring announcement of funding recovery allows regions an
opportunity for appeal and discussion. This also meets the preferred
timescale for the signalling of funding recovery in the accounts and
allows sufficient time for the funds to be recovered before the end of the
academic year. The existing rules of appeal will apply.
38. The regular review of Scotland-wide progress will allow us to update our
priorities, identify new priorities and revise existing aspirations. This
information will be part of the revised annual Outcome Agreement
guidance, contributing to the development of the next year’s agreement.
Timeline
39. We intend to begin discussing the content of AY 2017-18 Outcome
Agreements immediately with a well-developed draft due in December
2016 and a final Outcome Agreement submitted by the end of March
2017.
40. Initial discussions should also include contributions from, and
intelligence provided by, other stakeholders including SDS and ES.
41. Mindful of the fact that our final timeline will be influenced by a range of
external factors outwith the control of SFC, which will include the
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Scottish Government Spending Review, the indicative timeline is as
follows:
Table 1: Outcome Agreement AY 2017-18 timeline
Activity
Guidance updated and published
Data sets for FE and HE released to institutions by
SFC
Self-evaluation progress report on 15-16
Outcome Agreement submitted
Well-developed draft Outcome Agreement
submitted
Feedback
Final Outcome Agreement submitted
Publication of Outcome Agreements
Deadline
October 2016
September/October
2016
31 October 2016
16 December 2016
January 2017
31 March 2017
April 2017
The AY 2017-18 Outcome Agreement: priorities for updating
SFC priorities
42. The Scottish Government’s post-16 education reform priorities are to:
improve life chances; support jobs and growth; and ensure sustainable
post-16 education. Existing priorities have been strengthened and
developed along with the inclusion of some new priorities for AY 201718 and beyond. Significantly, the Government has stated its intention to
develop a world-class vocational education system. Scotland’s Youth
Employment Strategy has identified new priorities which are covered by
SFC’s strategic aims of High Quality Teaching and Learning.
43. The college sector will play a key role in delivering these priorities; OAs
will be used to demonstrate the contribution made by each region and
the sector as a whole.
44. SFC and Scottish Government would particularly like to hear how
colleges are working collaboratively to maintain their relationship with
partners in the EU.
45. In setting out their aspirations, colleges are asked to submit a summary
of baselines, milestones, and targets as an attachment to their outcome
agreement. This summary will form an integral and critical part of the
final agreement. In advance of annual negotiations SFC will issue a
bespoke pro-forma to each institution with the current baselines for
each of the measures of progress.
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Table 2: SFC’s national priorities for AY 2017-18
Priority 1: High Quality learning and teaching – an outstanding system of learning that is accessible and diverse where students progress
successfully with the ability, ideas and ambition to make a difference
Outcomes
Commitments, strategies and/or evidence of progress
Access
Identify and address under-representation from protected
characteristic and socio-economic groups, providing evidence of
positive action to:
A more equal society
because learning is
accessible and diverse,
attracting and providing
more equal opportunities
for people of all ages, and
from all communities and
backgrounds
Measure of progress
• Credits delivered.
• Volume and Proportion of Credits delivered
to learners aged 16-19 and 20-24.
• Volume and proportion of Credits delivered
• Increase (where under-represented) the participation of
to learners in the most deprived 10%
learners from all protected characteristic groups.
postcode areas.
• Support care experienced learners.
• The volume and proportion of Credits
• To best demonstrate a college region’s role in access and
relating to learners from different protected
inclusion (this can also include contextual information
characteristic groups and care-experienced
about students such as caring responsibilities - especially
learners (where data is available).
for younger students - and the use of bursary/EMA and
• Volume and proportion of Credits delivered
student support discretionary funding).
to learners enrolled on STEM courses.
• Recognise the compounded disadvantage that can result
• Number of senior phase age pupils studying
where socio-economic disadvantage and protected
vocational qualifications delivered by
characteristics inter-relate.
colleges.
• Volume and proportion of Credits delivered
Regions should improve data collections to include all protected
to senior phase age pupils studying
characteristics.
vocational qualifications delivered by
colleges.
Increase the proportion of Credits delivered to learners from the • Volume and proportion of Credits delivered
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10% most deprived postcode areas.
• Reduce gender disparities for learners within particular
subject areas, where they exist.
• Colleges to reflect on their contribution to the National
Ambition for Care-experienced Students
• College regions plan for and deliver their contributions
to Opportunities for All 2.
to learners at S3 and above as part of
'school-college' provision.
• Volume and proportion of Credits delivered
at HE level to learners from SHEP schools (i.e.
Secondary schools with consistently low
rates of progression to higher education).
Equality and diversity should be considered in relation to all of
SFC’s priorities. In particular to respond to the general and
Scottish specific duties of the Equality Act (2010); including:
Mainstreaming of equality and diversity within the OA process.
Build on the outcomes from the action-learning pilot work to
implement the new quality approach and the integration of the
new quality arrangements and OA evaluation and reporting.
An outstanding system of
learning where all students
are progressing
successfully and benefiting
from a world-class learning
experience, in the hands of
expert lecturers delivered
Improvement in retention and the proportion of students,
including protected characteristic groups and learners from the
10% most deprived postcode areas, successfully completing
qualifications.
Increase the number of students articulating to university with
advanced standing.
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Opportunities for All Supporting all young people to participate in post-16 learning, training or work
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• The number of starts for direct contracted
apprenticeships (e.g. in CITB, SECTT).
• Improvement in the proportion of early
leavers and further student withdrawals (FT
& PT).
• Proportion of enrolled students successfully
in modern facilities
In considering college curriculum, reflect on whether there are
clear unmet needs within the region and how the region might
need to reprioritise its existing resources in the short-medium
term.
Improve the range and spread of provision within and across
each region, ensuring that provision (and infrastructure) is
targeted towards the needs of the communities and employers
in the region.
Secure commitments which will ensure the ongoing
sustainability and reflects unmet demand across the piece, of
provision in English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Identification of clear learning pathways using the Scottish
Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels wherever
possible. We would encourage colleges to continue to credit
rate provision not already credit rated onto the SCQF, allowing
learners to gain credit for their learning wherever possible.
To ensure that learners are aware of the SCQF level and credit
allocated to their qualifications and that the SCQF is promoted
within college publications.
Employability of disabled learners.
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achieving a recognised qualification (FT &
PT).
• Proportion of enrolled SIMD10 students (i.e.
learners from the 10% most deprived
postcodes) successfully achieving a
recognised qualification (FT & PT).
• Proportion of senior phase age pupils
successfully completing a vocational
qualification delivered by colleges.
• The number and proportion of successful
learners who have achieved HNC (SCQF level
7) or HND (SCQF Level 8) qualifications
articulating to degree level courses (SCQF
level 9) with advanced standing.
A more successful economy
and society with well
prepared and skilled
students progressing into
jobs with the ability, ideas,
and ambition to make a
difference
Support the implementation plans in the Scottish Government’s
youth employment strategy - DYW by working in partnership
with Local Authorities, schools and employers to increase the
range of high quality senior phase vocational pathways to
employment.
Local authorities, schools and colleges to map STEM provision in
their area and where appropriate, prioritise the development of
relevant new vocational pathways in this area.
Provide a baseline of current provision in relation to work
placement with reference to the new Work Placement Standard
for Colleges, and express ambitions for growth.
Detail the level and extent of employer engagement in course
and curriculum design and delivery and the impact on college
leaver employability.
Ensure all vocational courses include a significant element of
relevant, high quality work experience.
Promote the delivery and expansion of Foundation
Apprenticeships and other appropriate qualifications in the
delivery of senior phase vocational pathways.
Promote opportunities for the development of partnerships
with universities for the delivery of Graduate Level
Apprenticeships.
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• Student Satisfaction and Engagement Survey
- the percentage of students Overall,
satisfied with their college experience.
• The number and proportion of full-time
college qualifiers in work, training and/or
further study 3-6 months after qualifying.
• Number of full-time learners with “work
experience” as part of their programme of
study.
Make more explicit responses to identified skills needs of
employers by providing evidence of how SIPs, RSAs and other
relevant Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) is utilised to inform
the development of the curriculum offer.
High-performing
institutions – a coherent
system of high-performing,
sustainable institutions
with modern, transparent
and accountable
governance arrangements
Colleges are asked to summarise how they ensure continuous
improvements in the quality of their governance; promote
equality and diversity in all their activities; and demonstrate
enhanced sustainability – securing best value for public
investment. Summaries should outline how colleges:
•
Contribute to the delivery of Climate Change (Scotland)
Act 2009 targets for significantly reduced greenhouse
gas emissions.
•
Intend to achieve their 2020 target for carbon reduction
(colleges and HEIs).
•
Address statutory requirements to eliminate
discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and
foster good relations.
•
Use data and consultation processes to evidence and
address under-representation of protected characteristic
groups.
•
Comply with the terms of the Financial Memorandum
(FM) with SFC. Key requirements of the FM include:
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• Gross carbon footprint (3 year period)
o Colleges and regional strategic bodies meet the Code
of Good Governance for Scotland’s Colleges.
o College Boards have clear ownership of institutional
financial health and regional strategic bodies ensure
the colleges they fund are financially stable.
o College regions explore and exploit opportunities to
improve efficiency and effectiveness through
collaborations and shared services.
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Aspirations and National Measures
46. Colleges are asked to share their aspirations for improvement using the
national priorities outlined in Table 2. In setting out their aspirations
colleges are asked to use the pro-forma as an annex to their Outcome
Agreement. This will allow SFC to discharge its responsibility to Scottish
Government and Scottish Parliament to account for the effectiveness of
public funding for the sector in securing national priority outcomes.
47. Aspirations for progress against measures should cover the three year
period from AY 2016-17. The information shown in the pro-forma table
should be interpreted through the regional context statement. The
measures draw on FES data and a small number of other data sets in
everyday use by the sector (see Annex B) and therefore should not
represent a significant additional reporting burden on colleges.
48. Where progress on the measures is reported, this should be done
consistently and with reference to both the technical annex to this paper
(Annex D) and the baseline agreed with SFC.
49. As outlined earlier, we encourage colleges to submit their own measures
of progress in addition to those outlined in Table 2 to supplement
national measures; particularly in relation to DYW and access.
Revisions to national measures
50. Table 3 shows the national measures for AY 2017-18. The following
revisions were made to the AY 2016-17 measures:
• Refined the measure for STEM courses to include additional
‘superclasses’.
• Removed the measure on profound and complex needs as the
significant variance in colleges’ definition of profound and complex
needs meant we could not report nationally on the information being
returned.
• Added a question from the Student Satisfaction and Engagement
Survey (Q1) in light of the full national pilot year in AY 2015-16.
• Due to the priorities around widening access, greater focus has been
placed on success for subgroupings, including SIMD10 and senior
phase vocational pathway learners; this is reflected in the addition of
two new sub-measures.
51. It is important to note that the developed workforce measures alongside
school-college measures will be revisited and reworked as the
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Government develops the DYW programme in partnership with SFC and
other bodies. For AY 2017-18 we expect to move to measuring schoolcollege attainment as well as volume.
52. Table 3 clarifies which measures and aspirations are to be reported in
terms of proportion, volume or both. The volume figure is required to
enable SFC to aggregate the regional aspirations and produce the
aspiration for the sector.
Cross cutting themes
53. In delivering against these priorities SFC expects college regions to
refresh their Outcome Agreements to address the following new
priorities.
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW)
54. AY 2017-18 will be year four of the seven year plan to deliver DYW:
Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy. For SFC our main, but not only,
contribution towards this is to grow college provision for school pupils in
the Senior Phase (to increase the numbers attaining a vocational
qualification by the time they leave school (KPI 3 of the plan) and to
increase the gender share in the most imbalanced superclasses ( KPI 8 of
the plan)). So far we have seen an increase in the percentage of school
leavers attaining vocational qualifications at SCQF level 5 and above from
7.3% in 2013-14 to 9.0% in 2014-15. We would expect to continue
growing this in all regions and this will include delivery of foundation
apprenticeships in collaboration with SDS.
55. This guidance for AY 2017-18 onwards will, again, be targeted to the
Senior Phase and all 16 to 24 year old college students, and will focus
on:
• Supporting the development of strategic partnerships between local
authorities, schools and colleges.
• Setting targets to overcome gender imbalances in the most gendered
subject areas.
• Introducing new approaches that allow more school pupils to begin a
vocational pathway as part of their senior phase curriculum.
• Achieving recognised qualifications on the SCQF.
• Securing guaranteed progression seamlessly to further learning,
training or work.
56. There are also commitments which colleges can directly contribute
towards in relation to the employment rate of young disabled people
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and positive destinations for looked after children. It is also likely that
KPI 4 of the plan - which relates to the progression and positive
destinations of young college students - will become more prominent
once the data is verified.
57. The level of commitment from colleges to DYW activity (as evidenced
through the 2016-17 Outcome Agreements) is impressive and we are
confident of overall growth in this area beyond the activity delivered in
AY 2014-15 and committed to, through the current Outcome
Agreements for 2016-17. Colleges have outlined a commitment to
gender but there is a need for a more focused approach to reduce
significant subject imbalances as included within the Senior Phase
cohort.
58. DYW identifies young disabled people, care-experienced learners and
young people from black and ethnic minorities as groups who experience
particular inequalities in vocational education and, subsequently,
employment. As a consequence, they are significantly more likely to
experience unemployment than their peers, outwith these groups. As
acknowledged elsewhere, colleges have a key role to play in delivering
improvements but they cannot do it alone. Colleges should outline how
they will work with partners to increase participation of these and other
protected characteristic groups.
Senior Phase Vocational Pathways
59. One of the key themes of DYW: Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy is
that schools and colleges work in partnership to develop new vocational
pathways, creating opportunities for all young people in the senior phase
to study vocational qualifications alongside other learning. These
pathways should focus on labour market need; prioritise STEM subjects
if there is an identified skills gap in the region; and be developed in a way
that achieves gender balance and supports key equality groups. The
development, delivery and upscaling of effective pathways should
feature prominently in Outcome Agreements, along with colleges’
responsibility for enhancing the quality of such new pathways as well as
wider vocational education.
60. Establishing vocational pathways of this kind as a mainstream option
represents a step change in the scale and scope of activity as well as the
nature of its delivery. Successful planning and delivery will therefore
demand partnerships between colleges, schools, local authorities and
employers of a higher order. We support the scale of the Scottish
Government’s ambition, and have enhanced the Outcome Agreement
17
measures to ensure they align to national expectations and provide
robust evidence of the sector’s contribution and progress. The final
evaluation of the Early Adopter projects 3 identified the key features for
successful vocational pathways development including: strategic
leadership; regional co-ordination; effective employer engagement and
promotion within local authorities and schools of the value of vocational
pathways.
61. In support of the SFC/SDS Joint Framework for Action, to deliver the
Scottish Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, colleges will have a
key role in delivering the introduction and scaling of the Foundation
Apprenticeship for senior phase pupils. We expect college regions to
develop appropriate plans for their aspirations in this area in the context
of their broader senior phase vocational pathways offer.
62. The ambition for work based learning pathways also involves the
development of work based learning programmes that deliver higher
educational content in work based learning setting. As Graduate Level
Apprenticeships are being developed, there will be opportunities for
colleges and universities to collaborate in their development and
delivery.
Employer Engagement
63. Progress on the development of effective partnerships with employers
and industry/business groups will be monitored through Outcome
Agreements. Previous Outcome Agreements have not always
demonstrated the extent and effect of employer engagement in course
and curriculum design and delivery. For 2017-18 college regions should
provide detail of the level and scope of employer engagement within
curriculum areas and outline how this engagement impacts on student
experience and employability.
64. At national level, the Government is supporting the development of
industry-led DYW groups across Scotland which will have a lead role in
facilitating effective engagement between education and employers. The
new DYW regional groups are currently at different stages of
development, but we expect colleges to have a role in supporting the
formation and operation of them in a way that significantly enhances
their current arrangements.
3
Evaluation report for the SFC Early Adopter Programme
18
65. College performance will be judged substantially on the basis of student
employment outcomes, reflecting the significantly increased focus of
colleges on employability.
Workplace Experience and Work Placement
66. The Commission suggested that a principal means of aligning provision
with labour market need is to ensure all vocational courses, including
those delivered in the senior phase, comprise a significant element of
relevant, high quality work placement and workplace experience. It also
highlights the potential of work experience to help address inequalities
in vocational education and employment. SFC, therefore, expects
colleges, in partnership with schools and employers as appropriate, to:
ensure all vocational provision includes such workplace experience or
work placement; addresses gender imbalance; and, prioritises young
disabled people and others who experience inequalities.
67. Although workplace experience, work placement and work related
learning (for example enterprise education) already forms part of many
courses, this again represents a significant scaling up of activity. We
expect colleges to play a central role in co-ordinating such opportunities,
and in expanding their availability and enhancing their quality. There is
also a clear onus on local authorities and schools as well as industry and
business to play its part. The new DYW groups are expected to support
such expansion.
68. In conjunction with colleges and other partners SFC developed standards
for work placement which were published in September 2016. The aim
of the standard is to significantly and consistently improve the future
employment prospects of all students by providing guidance for colleges
and employers and highlighting best practice in the sector. Colleges
should ensure that the guidance within the standard is consistent with
their delivery of work placement and work place experience
69. SFC has included “work experience” course and unit indicators to FES to
begin to collect and measure “work experience” activity.
Modern Apprenticeships
70. MAs are a key vehicle for effective workforce development. The plan to
increase the number of MAs to 30,000 by 2020 highlights the potential
for colleges to make a greater contribution to the development and
delivery of high quality MAs. Continuing improvement of quality and
flexibility around delivery are key to colleges wishing to increase activity
in this area. For Measure 5 SFC expect colleges to report on the total
number of MA starts contracted from Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
19
and other industry bodies such as Scottish Electrical Charitable Training
Trust (SECTT) and Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
SFC national aspirations for widening access
71. Building on Scottish Government priorities and ministerial letters of
guidance, SFC’s national aspirations for the three year period beginning
AY 2017-18 are set out below.
I.
At least 60% of HN entrants to university should articulate with
advanced standing per year by AY 2019-20 rising to 75% by AY 202526.
II.
Between 17% and 18% of college activity (credits) per year should be
delivered to college students from a SIMD10 postcode area by AY
2016-17 rising to 19.5% per year by AY 2019-20 and 20% by AY 202021.
III.
The percentage of enrolled (full-time) students successfully achieving
a recognised qualification on the SCQF should increase to 69.0% by
AY 2016-17 and 73.2% by AY 2019-20 for FE and should increase to
72.0% by AY 2016-17 and 74.4% by AY 2019-20 for HE. We want
greater ambition and parity between FE and HE success and aspire to
achieve 75% in both by AY 2020-21.
IV.
The percentage of enrolled (full-time) students from a SIMD10
postcode successfully achieving a recognised qualification on the
SCQF should increase to 67.3% by AY 2019-20 and 75.0% by AY 202728 for FE and should increase to 70.5% by AY 2019-20 and 75.0% by
AY 2027-28 for HE.
V.
Increase by 5 percentage points the minority gender share in each of
the 10 largest and most imbalanced superclasses by 2021. As a
milestone we will look to increase the minority gender share by 4.2
percentage points by AY 2019-20.
VI.
By AY 2018-19 the ambition for care experience is to: increase intake
from 733 in the College sector to 800; increase the FTHE college
numbers who successfully complete their course from 66% to 71%;
and increase the FTFE college numbers who successfully complete
their course from 61% to 66%. We expect the sector to continue to
ensure that the gap between outcomes for those with care
experience and those without is narrowed, aiming for parity by 2021.
20
Access for people from the widest range of backgrounds
72. ‘Access to people from the widest range of backgrounds’ remains a key
priority for SFC. The sector’s record in recruiting students from deprived
backgrounds is strong and we want you to continue this record.
73. The Outcome Agreements should use the SFC baselines provided and be
clear in describing the intended progress both in proportionate and
absolute terms. This should include numbers and percentages and in all
cases progress must be ambitious and achievable.
Equality and diversity
74. SFC wants to improve people’s life chances by ensuring learners in
Scotland are able to access the highest levels of educational provision
and reach their full potential. This is in line with the commitments set
out in SFC’s equality outcomes and ambition published on our website [1],
and delivered through significant sector strategies and developments,
these include: DYW; the Gender Action Plan; SFC’s Access and Inclusion
Strategy and implementation of the recommendations within the
Commission on Widening Access final report.
75. To meet the statutory requirement for Equality Impact Assessments
(EIAs) of new and revised policies, institutions are required to undertake
EIAs of their Outcome Agreements. This process will support colleges to
identify priorities for advancing equality in relation to all protected
characteristics for the period of the Outcome Agreement. So, a three
year OA will only need one EIA every three years and this should be
revisited annually if changes are made.
76. This process will also support the coordinated development of new
equality outcomes. SFC Equality and Diversity leads can advise on the
development of new equality outcomes for publication by April 2017,
within which there is the opportunity for strategic equality
mainstreaming within the OA process.
77. SFC funds the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) and College Development
Network (CDN) to support institutions in this work. ECU provides specific
guidance on the above for colleges. 4
78.
4
Our expectation is that colleges will consider whether there are any
protected characteristic groups that are underrepresented in their
student population – or on particular types of course – and set
Embedding equality in outcome agreements
21
aspirations for improvement in representation. We do not expect
colleges to set targets for every group.
79. Over the course of this guidance, SFC will work with institutions to
consider the Race Equality Framework for Scotland 2016-2030 5, and to
ensure that people do not face barriers to full participation and
successful outcomes across Further and Higher Education.
Care-experienced
80. Last year we published the national ambition for care-experienced
learners 6 to address the under-representation and poor educational
outcomes of this group. The ambitions themselves focus on intake and
successful completions over the period AY 2016-17 to AY 2018-19. They
seek to achieve a consistency in success with non-care-experienced
learners and to increase intake of care-experienced students into
colleges by 31% care-experienced to 800.
81. This ambition links to Key Performance indicator 11 in DYW - Scotland’s
Youth Employment Strategy which states that the Scottish Government
will “increase positive destinations for looked after children by 4
percentage points per annum resulting in parity by 2021.” It also links to
colleges Corporate Parenting responsibilities.
82. The Children and Young People’s (Scotland) Act 2014 places duties on
colleges and universities in relation to young people in care and care
experienced learners. OAs should contain an outline of the activity being
undertaken to remove barriers to participation and to achieve successful
outcomes among care-experienced learners, including activity under the
Act and any joint working with schools – mainstream, specialist and
residential to ensure a successful transition for individuals, retention
while at college and progression to positive destinations thereafter.
Carers
83. Colleges are asked to include a statement in their agreements outlining
their current and future commitments to support students and staff who
are carers, and – where known – state the number of individual staff and
students who are carers. The Carers Trust defines a carer as follows:
‘A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who
5
Race Equality Framework for Scotland
College Outcome Agreement Guidance AY 2016-17 Annex H: National ambition for care experienced
students
6
22
due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot
cope without their support’.
84. The statement on carers should also outline how colleges identify carers
including students or staff who become carers during the year, promote
a positive declaration environment, support carers, and how they work
in partnership with local authorities to help them meet their duty under
the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016. The SFC and the Scottish Government are
supportive of the Carers Trust ‘Going Higher’ campaign 7 and although
this campaign is targeted at universities we encourage both colleges and
universities to evidence their support for this through their outcome
agreement.
Gender
85. The Scottish Government, through DYW, has set out its ambitions for
colleges to address gender imbalances at subject level, within the
following KPI to ‘increase by 5 percentage points the minority gender
share in each of the 10 largest and most imbalanced superclasses among
16-24 year olds by 2021’. DYW also committed SFC to publishing a
gender action plan setting out how we would work with the sector to
tackle gender imbalances – we published this on 12 August 2016. 8
86. Building on last year’s OAs, we ask for all colleges to outline their key
ambitions to tackle gender imbalances at a subject level within their
Outcome Agreements. These should be clear outcomes focused on the
subjects with the greatest gender imbalances at the college. Where
these do not correspond with those included within the Government’s
KPI, this should be discussed with your Outcome Agreement Manager.
We also ask colleges to identify where they have an imbalance between
male and female students within completion by subject and to outline
the outcomes they hope to achieve in addressing the imbalance.
87. We also invite colleges to highlight how through responding to the Public
Sector Equality Duty they are proactively promoting gender equality in
relation to their staff and to their governing body. This should include
reporting on progress with addressing gender imbalances at senior
academic level and how they are working towards eliminating the
gender pay gap. In addition, institutions will be aware of the Gender
Balance on Public Boards legislation announced in the Programme for
Government and we ask that colleges describe how they are working
towards improving gender balance on their Board.
7
8
Carers Trust ‘Going Higher’ campaign
SFC Gender Action Plan
23
88. We ask that all activity towards achieving these outcomes is outlined
within an institutional or regional gender action plan.
89. Your Outcome Agreement Manager will discuss this with you on a
regional basis. For further detail on expectations relating to work on
gender imbalance, in particular more detail on institutional gender
action plans, see Annex B.
Access and Inclusion funding
90. The SFC has completed a full review of Extended Learning Support (ELS).
The funds allocated for ELS have been renamed to Access and Inclusion
Funds and these are allocated to colleges for the purpose of enhancing
their inclusive practices and meeting the needs of their students. We
expect colleges to use their funds to deliver a parity of intake and
outcome for their students so that all students have an equal chance of
successfully completing their programme of learning. For this reason, our
guidance on this funding should be read in conjunction with the college’s
legal responsibilities as outlined in the Equality Act 2010.
91. To evidence how colleges are using these ring fenced funds, colleges are
expected to complete an Access and Inclusion Strategy. This strategy
should align to the needs of your region as outlined in your Regional
Context Statement.
92. More guidance on the Access and Inclusion Strategy is provided in Annex
C 9 but it should be noted that this strategy should have at least four
component elements.
• The Access and Inclusion approach adopted at the college to meet the
needs of your students including evidence and key learning points
about what works well.
• How the access and inclusion fund is used to support this approach.
Please note we do not require a detailed financial report but a high
level overview of what these funds contribute would help us
understand what would not be possible without this funding. Colleges
may wish to consider outlining how they use these funds to contribute
to or fully support specialist teams and posts, CPD programmes and
ICT investments. This list is not meant to be specific or exhaustive.
9
Please note that it is not our intention to provide an Annex for this element of the Outcome
Agreement every year. This has simply been put in place to support a new element of the Outcome
Agreement and to provide some background to the review of the ELS.
24
• The expected impact that this approach will have on the Performance
Indicators at the college particularly the successful completion rates at
the college.
• The impact that this approach has on the intake and outcomes of the
priority access groups outlined in the annex.
93. This new approach means that there will no longer be an ELS flag in FES,
but it also means that we must collectively work to improve our data
collections if we are to adequately assess the impact that this approach
specifically has on our priority access groups at a regional and national
level.
94. The SFC has undertaken to significantly improve our recording of our
priority access groups by providing additional data flags such as
improving the flags available to record disability, care experience,
profound and complex needs and carers. We will also, though our OA
Managers, provide colleges with information on our priority access
groups at their college and at a Scottish level.
95. We ask colleges to promote positive declaration environments for their
students and to use where possible student intranets and portals to
ensure we capture student data throughout the year and not just at key
points such as application and enrolment. This is also particularly
important as students’ needs will change throughout the year.
96. As part of this process, colleges will no longer need to have student
Personal Learning Support Plans (PLSPs) audited for either their ELS or
Price Group 5 provision. PLSPs were highly praised as a process during
the ELS review and we encourage colleges to continue to use these when
it is in the best interest of the student. We also encourage the college to
use learning plans for all their students as we see this as good practice.
For students whose needs cannot be met through your inclusive
approaches alone we expect you to complete a PLSP.
97. The SFC executive will consider your Access and Inclusion Strategy in
relation to the funds you are being allocated and the needs of your
region. We will also monitor the intake and outcome ambitions you have
set for your priority access groups. When considering this performance
we may take into account representation of the priority access groups at
a regional, subject and Scottish level. We will prepare and publish a
national overview of all the strategies to better evidence the national
use of the resource allocated for this purpose.
98. Colleges should discuss their allocation of Access and Inclusion Funds in
relation to the core funding and the needs of their region with their
25
Outcome Agreement Manager. There are two reasons for this, firstly it
may be possible on receipt of a highly evidenced case to consider the
split between Core and Access and Inclusion funding and secondly it will
assist us as we consider a future allocation model for this new approach.
Moving forward these funds will be allocated on the basis of a funding
model and will not be allocated on the basis of previous ELS claims. To
prevent any disruption to college business we have decided to work on
this model in collaboration with the sector over the next few years with
a view to implementing a new approach for AY 2019-20 onwards.
Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM)
99. Education Working for All! concludes that an adequate supply of STEM
skills is critical to growing Scotland’s key economic sectors and that to
secure this supply the number of young people achieving STEM
qualifications should be increased. As a primary provider of STEM
courses, colleges will clearly have a significant role to play in delivering
this objective. We recommend that colleges use the information from
SIPs and RSAs as well as their own engagements with local employers to
assess the need for provision and map existing provision. Where there is
an identified need they should expand STEM courses in their general
provision and prioritise STEM subjects in developing new senior phase
vocational pathways with local authorities.
100. To support the sector to target and expand STEM provision in a way that
is coordinated and impactful, we will work with the Scottish Government
and other partners to develop a STEM strategy for Scotland.
Early Years and Childcare
101. Scottish Government’s planned expansion in early learning and childcare
will have a significant impact on the demand for qualified childcare
practitioners in the coming years. Scottish Government have committed
to almost doubling the funded early learning and childcare entitlement
to 1,140 hours/year by the end of the next parliament which means that
the workforce will need to grow significantly. The training of additional
practitioners, through the suite of qualifications for early learning and
childcare practitioners and Managers, will form a key part of the
required workforce expansion; therefore, throughout this three year
cycle of OAs (2017-20), colleges will need to work closely with SFC and
Scottish Government to respond the demand for additional high quality
early years staff to meet this commitment.
26
Employability
102. In order to respond to the Scottish Government’s priorities of ‘improved
life chances’ and ‘jobs and growth’, SFC wants college regions to support
unemployed people to develop employability skills to enable them to get
a job, keep a job and or train for a career. In particular, SFC wants all
college regions to set out in their OA their plans in relation to
employability provision.
103. SFC expects colleges to demonstrate that their employability offer is
aligned to the Strategic Skills Pipeline, responds to the needs of local
employability partners and retains a strong focus on positive outcomes.
European Social Funds
104. SFC has been managing two new European Social Fund (ESF) project
from AY 2015-16 as part of the new 2014-20 programme.
105. For the initial three year period of AYs 2015-16 to 2017-18 this covers
two strategic interventions:
• ‘Youth Employment Initiative’ (YEI) for colleges in South West
Scotland.
• ‘Developing Scotland’s Workforce’ (DSW) for Lowlands and Uplands
Scotland (LUPS) colleges and the Highlands & Islands (transitional
funding).
106. Subject to the timing of Scottish Government approval of AY 2017-18
Operational Programmes, ESF outcomes will be incorporated into
regional Outcome Agreements. This means that Outcome Agreement
Managers will discuss each region’s plans for the use of their additional
ESF activity in the context of the negotiations about how they will use
their core activity – allowing colleges to plan additional ESF activity at
the same time as core provision, bringing about greater coherence in the
use of funds.
107. We expect each college region to liaise and work with their local
Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to ensure that college planned
ESF activity supports, and is complimentary to, CPP activity and is aligned
with its Outcome Agreement, particularly the regional context
statement. This is an annual process.
27
Alignment with Single Outcome Agreement reporting
108. SFC expects colleges to make an effective contribution to community
planning. Ideally, this includes having senior decision-makers actively
participating at a strategic level in relevant CPPs.
109. SFC wants Outcome Agreements to demonstrate that colleges are
informing the development of, and contributing effectively to, the
delivery of Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs).
Land-based Provision
110. SRUC is a tertiary institution that offers qualifications from nonadvanced level right through to degree level and beyond. Along with
other regional colleges, SRUC provides for the needs of the land-based
industries across Scotland and as such, the delivery of land-based
education and training does not fit well with the regional model.
111. During AY 2014-15 the National Land-based Strategy Group (NLSG) was
established to take forward the recommendations of the National
Strategy for Land-Based Education and Training and to plan and
implement future provision across Scotland. This group of colleges, led
and co-ordinated by SRUC, have been tasked with developing and
delivering a collaborative mechanism by which the needs of the landbased industries in Scotland will be met by a coherent, national offer of
provision.
112. As part of their Outcome Agreement discussions, institutions must
review the regional distribution and demand for land-based courses and
explore opportunities for collaborative growth or rationalisation with
other colleges. SFC expects institutions to engage with the NLSG to
ensure a collective and cohesive approach to land-based education.
113. For their part, SRUC and the other land-based providers will be asked to
provide details in their Outcome Agreements of the collaborative
process and any subsequent impact on provision.
British Sign Language (BSL)
114. SFC is committed to supporting the implementation of the British Sign
Language (Scotland) Act 2015. We will contribute to the development of
the BSL National Plan over AY 2016-17 and will support colleges and
universities to develop their individual plans. Through these plans we will
seek to increase awareness of BSL and demonstrably improve access to
services for Scotland’s deaf and deafblind population over the three year
Outcome Agreement period. We will be working closely with the Scottish
28
Government, Scottish Council on Deafness, Deaf Action, students,
colleges and universities and others to advance this work.
Gaelic
115. All Outcome Agreements should include detail of their contribution to
the aims of the current National Gaelic Language Plan (NGLP) – noting
that there will be a new NGLP for 2017. Contributions include
maintenance and development of provision:
• For Gaelic learners.
• For Gaelic speakers among their staff, students and others with whom
they engage.
116. We continue to expect all college regions to demonstrate that they have:
• Examined evidence on Gaelic use, and demand for use and learning, in
their communities.
• Considered the appropriate level of support for the language,
including potential new provision to fill identified gaps and.
• Considered and provided undertakings on how they will build and
protect their Gaelic provision, including staff development and
succession planning.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
117. Colleges to ensure they have identified and appropriately resourced
their regional needs for the provision of ESOL.
Student engagement in the development of Outcome Agreements
118. Consistent with the approach to student engagement in quality, SFC
expects colleges to show evidence of how the outcomes within the
Outcome Agreements have been developed and discussed with college
Students’ Associations (SAs). SFC Outcome Agreement Managers will
meet with staff, students and SA officers in each college region to discuss
Outcome Agreement engagement in general, and more specifically, the
SA views on the content of the agreement and how they can contribute
towards the achievement of college policy priorities.
119. The Framework for the Development of Strong and Effective College
Students’ Associations in Scotland, and its associated toolkit, includes
good practice for the engagement of students on developing Outcome
Agreements and we recommend that it is used to guide collaboration
between the college and the SA and inform SA development. Outcome
29
Agreements should provide detail of how the Framework is being
implemented, including ensuring that SAs are adequately funded.
30
High performing institutions
Carbon reduction
120. The Climate Change Act sets ambitious targets for carbon reduction and,
from 2016, requires institutions to submit a mandatory Climate Change
report to the Scottish Government. SFC will monitor sector progress on
carbon reduction / energy efficiency through metrics (developed by the
college working group on climate change) and an annual estates data
return. These will also be useful in assessing the progress and impact of
the Council’s 10 year capital funding strategy.
121. The Scottish Government expects SFC to play a role in making further
progress to reduce the carbon footprint of both sectors. We have
established a sectoral baseline for colleges, and from 2016-17 we will
work with The Environmental Association for Universities and
Colleges (EAUC) and Resource Efficient Scotland to help college regions
develop their own carbon management plans, including setting
projected targets. We will review college regional targets for 2016-17
onwards and take a view on whether – at the regional and the sectoral
level – these are sufficient.
Financial stability
122. For 2017-18 Outcome Agreements we require a statement that colleges
have complied with all the terms of the Financial Memorandum with
colleges and HEIs.
123. Should our Institutional Finance Governance team within SFC raise any
serious concerns about any institution, these concerns will be addressed
by that team and the relevant Outcome Agreement Manager will be kept
fully informed.
124. Where there are any identified institutional weaknesses or failures, the
Outcome Agreement should reflect an action plan to correct these areas.
College Leaver Destination Survey
125. The College Leaver Destinations (CLD) for full-time qualifiers is now
established as an annual collection and an integrated part of the OA
process and measures. The collection has been enhanced to include
equalities data and to provide useful information for the sector at
national, regional and college level.
126. SFC will continue to work with other agencies such as SDS and Student
Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to increase the data linkage to
31
existing datasets to reduce the collection burden on colleges and to
further assure the quality of the data. We issue specific guidance
annually to support the CLD collection.
Student satisfaction and engagement
127. Recognising the need to develop the evidence base for student
satisfaction and engagement, working with colleges, National Union of
Students Scotland (NUSS), Student Participation in Quality Scotland
(sparqs), Scottish Government and other relevant agencies, SFC
established a working group to develop a survey which would offer a set
of measures of student satisfaction and engagement. A national pilot
survey was conducted in March – April 2016. Learning from this exercise
will be shared with the sector at an event in September 2016.
128. Further guidance on the sector-wide survey for AY 2016-17 will follow by
the end of 2016. For the AY 2017-18 Outcome Agreement we will expect
to discuss college regions’ ambitions with respect to student satisfaction
and engagement as part of the Outcome Agreement process, and we will
monitor progress on an annual basis.
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Table 3: SFC’s National Performance Measures for 2017-18
Measure
Measure 1 (a)
Measure 1 (b)
Measure 1 (c)
Measure 1 (d)
Credits delivered ( Core / ESF / Core + ESF)
Volume and Proportion of Credits delivered to learners aged 16-19 and 20-24
Volume and proportion of Credits delivered to learners in the most deprived 10% postcode areas
The volume and proportion of Credits relating to learners from different protected characteristic groups and care leavers (where
data is available)
Measure 2 (a)
Number of senior phase age pupils studying vocational qualifications delivered by colleges
Measure 2 (b)
Volume and proportion of Credits delivered to senior phase age pupils studying vocational qualifications delivered by colleges
Volume and proportion of Credits delivered to learners at S3 and above as part of 'school-college' provision
Measure 2 (c)
Measure 2 (d)
Volume and proportion of Credits delivered at HE level to learners from SHEP schools (i.e. Secondary schools with consistently
low rates of progression to higher education)
Measure 3
Measure 4 (a)
Volume and proportion of Credits delivered to learners enrolled on STEM courses (TBC)
Proportion of enrolled students successfully achieving a recognised qualification (FT & PT)
Measure 4 (b)
Proportion of enrolled SIMD10 students successfully achieving a recognised qualification (FT & PT)
Measure 4 (c)
Measure 5
Proportion of senior phase age pupils successfully completing a vocational qualification delivered by colleges
The number of starts for direct contracted apprenticeships (including industry bodies such CITB and SECTT)
Measure 6
Number of full-time learners with high quality work placement or work place “experience” as part of their programme of study
Measure 7
The number and proportion of successful learners who have achieved HNC or HND qualifications articulating to degree level
courses with advanced standing
The number and proportion of full-time college qualifiers in work, training and/or further study 3-6 months after qualifying
SSES Survey - The percentage of students Overall, satisfied with their college experience
Gross carbon footprint (3 year period)
Measure 8
Measure 9
Measure 10
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Table 4: SFC Outcome Agreement and policy area contacts
Region / college
Outcome Agreement
Manager/Policy Lead
Alternative contact
Ayrshire
Alison Cook
[email protected]
Louise Lauchlan
[email protected]
Borders
Keith Coyne
[email protected]
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Dumfries & Galloway
Kathy O’Loan
[email protected]
Dee Bird
[email protected]
Dundee and Angus
Fiona Burns
[email protected]
Keith Coyne
[email protected]
Edinburgh
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Seamus Spencer
[email protected]
Fife
Alison Meldrum
[email protected]
Linda McLeod
[email protected]
Forth Valley
Alison Meldrum
[email protected]
Linda McLeod
[email protected]
Glasgow
Linda McLeod
[email protected]
Paul Travers
[email protected]
Highlands and Islands
Sharon Drysdale
[email protected]
Hazel MacDonald
[email protected]
Lanarkshire
Sharon Drysdale
[email protected]
Alison Malcolm
[email protected]
North East Scotland
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Greg Anderson
[email protected]
West
Paul Travers
[email protected]
Linda McLeod
[email protected]
West Lothian
Seamus Spencer
[email protected]
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Newbattle Abbey College
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Keith Coyne
[email protected]
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Halena Gauntlett
[email protected]
Sharon Drysdale
[email protected]
34
Policy areas
Policy Lead
Alternative contact
Access & Equality
Fiona Burns
[email protected]
Anna Thomson (Access)
Carina MacRitchie (Access)
Halena Gauntlett (Equality)
[email protected] / [email protected] /
[email protected]
College Core funding
Gordon McBride
[email protected]
Duncan Condie/Gavin Bruce
[email protected] / [email protected]
ESF funding
Gavin Bruce
[email protected]
Rebecca Fairgrieve-Stewart
[email protected]
Estates and Carbon Reduction
Martin Kirkwood
[email protected]
Deanne Holden
[email protected]
Gaelic
Morag Campbell
[email protected]
Kathy O'Loan
[email protected]
Leaver destinations
Kenny Wilson
[email protected]
Gordon McBride
[email protected]
Quality
Alison Cook
[email protected]
Keith Coyne
[email protected]
DYW
Seamus Spencer
[email protected]
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Skills
Sharon Drysdale
[email protected]
Andre Reibig
[email protected]
Statistics and data returns
Gordon McBride
[email protected]
Cathy Mitchell / Kenny Wilson
[email protected] / [email protected]
Strategic Dialogue Meetings
Ken Rutherford
[email protected]
Nick Stansfeld
[email protected]
Student representation
Linda McLeod
[email protected]
Keith Coyne
[email protected]
35